Attracting people with the right skills is a challenge and retaining staff in a competitive market can be difficult.

Attracting people into the industry remains a challenge, with the Nursery industry struggling with a public perception of being an unskilled job. However, there is a lot of skill required in some areas, particularly in relation to botany skills. We understand anecdotally that the current generation of botanists are reaching retirement age, and the existing qualifications do not focus enough on botany to replace them. Therefore, attracting people with the right skills remains a focus for the industry.  

The industry is eager to diversify the workforce, which is 71% European. While Māori make up 13% of the workforce and own an estimated 10% of businesses in the industry, there is an interest from the industry in better understanding how it can become a more diverse workforce, including also attracting more neurodivergent people into the workforce. Sports Turf is particularly focussed on attracting more women into the industry and have recently announced the first annual Women in Turf Scholarship to support women in the Sports Turf workforce. 

Attracting people to the industry is further compounded in urban areas where the cost of living doesn’t align with the remuneration of the job.